Ferry question Santorini to Naxos

The Blue Star is a conventional slow ferry. It leaves Santorini in the afternoon and you are in the Caldera for some time so views are spectacular. As I recall you arrive Naxos in the late afternoon.
All three of these ferries are quite large and are stable. A bad sea will affect all of them pretty much the same way.

One of the Sea Jets departs Santorini in late morning and is a high speed that gets you to Naxos early afternoon. Both have rear facing decks so you can be outside for the trip through the Caldera. I timed it we were in the caldera for 17 minutes.

You have to prioritize what most important to you. Great Caldera views, slower ferry ,arrive Naxos late afternoon.
Or short ride in the caldera, with early arrival Naxos to get to your hotel get checked in, and starting you Naxos experience hours earlier.
We always choose to get to Naxos as early as possible.
Oh I forgot Seajets is going to be more expensive but the extra time on Naxos makes that a good trade off .

We always wait until we arrive on an island before we buy our ferry tickets. Any travel agent on Santorini can sell you a ticket. The advantage is you get the latest news on Strikes and weather which gives you options which you will not have if you book way in advance. If you choose to book early then use the Blue Star or Seajet web site.

For fun here are some images of Naxos. You will love it.
Around Naxos town 2022 https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72177720299959098
Back to Naxos 2022 https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72177720299940917

Naxos sunsets https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157700728046481

If you are prone to seasickness and if you are not in a hurry avoid Seajets ferries. Especially the little ones like the Supercat, and even the bigger ones like the WorldChampion.
Even in the WorldChampion you will be stuck in your seat almost without the possibility of going outside (there is an outside deck not equipped with chairs or tables and where the wind is hellish because of the speed of the ferry)

In this video you will see what you will have in a traditional Blue Star type ferry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxa80tGYQi4

And in this one a good (and short) example of a Seajets ferry trip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIclfEOtNwk

So, crossings with small Seajets are generally unpleasant.
I knew one recently where it was so hectic that the luggage piled up in the corridors fell on the passengers (in the small Seajets you take your luggage in the cabin)

You can use ferryhopper to see ferry availability and schedules, however this is only an intermediary.

Although ferryhopper is reliable, my advice is to always book on the ferry company's website. It is with them that you have direct information in the event of ferry cancellation or modification.

We took the Blue Star Ferry last May from Santorini to Naxos, and it was a very smooth ride. I tend to get seasick, too, and I didn't have any problems on the Blue Star Ferry. It's about a 2-hour ride. We took the ferry that departed Santorini at 3:15pm. We purchased our tickets while we were on Santorini. Our hotel's desk clerk reserved them for us online.

Thank you all for the great information. After viewing the videos, I think I will stick with the BlueStar Ferry.

Great photos Stanbr. I always enjoy dreaming of warm vacations in the cold days of January!

Thank you to OP for posting this question and for all the fantastic answers. I am curious about the different level of tickets that are offered, and if they are worth the upgrade. On Seajets, World Champion Jet the 12:10 ferry, it offers 3 levels of tickets; Silver, Club, and Platinum. I can't find out on their website what you get for the increased price. Is the base price sufficient to get a dedicated seat?

About seat classes see this web page:

https://www.go-ferry.com/sea-jets-tickets/sea-jets-accommodation.

Seats in Silver (economy) class are assigned automatically by the system. You cannot choose the seat(s) when booking.

In my multiple trips in Silver class, about half the time the seats booked were not grouped together. It is then possible to change seats to be grouped together provided that they are free. Note that seats mays be free at the beginning of the trip but be booked as the ferry takes on new passengers at the different stops.

Also see this video about the WorldChampion jet, and precisely, for a Santorini-Naxos course.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-1J5w4GjLM

There are a few small errors in the commentary but it's pretty reliable overall

Also the phrase "a little bit more expensive" about prices is largely outdated. Since last year It is now necessary to say "much more expensive"

As someone who always gets seasick, I had absolutely no problem on the Seajet ferries. Our trip from Santorini to Naxos was great. We sat inside for much of the ride, but did go outside for a small portion of the trip. We wanted to spend as much time on Naxos as possible, so it made more sense to arrive earlier in the day. Naxos is beautiful!

I watched the video on the seajets crossing. I would respectfully suggest that a video taken in the Blue star on that same route on that day would be no different. If its rainy and choppy its not going to be smooth ride.

For sure the small seajets have a bad reputation in choppy seas. However those ferries are not on the Santorini to Naxos routes. The large stable fast seajet ferries are on that route.

The main decisions we make on a ferry hop is how long does the ferry hop take?
For us we want to get to the next island as soon as possible. Thats Seajets. If that is not your priority the Bluestar is a fine choice.and likely a bit less expensive.

stanbr is right, in fairness and to balance with the video about Seajets, here is one about Blue Star:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8ENUqTmjTE

Needless to say that in these sea conditions the Seajets ferries do not sail

Thanks for the balanced videos. I hope I don't encounter seas like that! Reminds me of a trip I once took on a ferry from England to Belgium in the winter. We were all so very seasick. I will see what my travel friends what to do. The price is a little cheaper on the BlueStar Ferry and they need to buy three tickets. I don't think we are in any rush so we may take the slow ferry to Naxos and just enjoy.

Thanks for everyone's input.